Cincinnati

This past weekend we traveled to Cincinnati for a conference that I had to present a paper at. It turned out to be the same weekend as Mark's company day to King's Island so we made a weekend out of it. We had a BLAST! It was a great family weekend! We drove to Cinci Saturday morning. They had changed the time of my presentation and I hadn't caught it so we had some time to kill. So, we went to IKEA, checked into our hotel room, and then I went back to the conference. After my presentation, we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. We only had an hour there but it was perfect because the crowds had dissipated and it was the perfect amount of time for Grace. We finished off the night with pizza at the hotel. Mark and I had planned on sharing a bottle of wine and watching a movie after Grace went to bed but I was sound asleep by 8:30. It was fabulous :)

Grace trying out the rocking horse at IKEA

Grace and Daddy at the zoo

Grace was constantly pointing while we were at the zoo. She LOVES animals!

We were posing like the momma/baby bear statue behind us, but we blocked the statue...oops!

Love this picture Mark caught of Grace in the hotel room!

On Sunday morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and then went swimming. The pool was pretty cold so Mark was the only one of the three of us who put more than his feet in the water! Once we got ready for the day, we headed to Jungle Jim's which is a grocery store on the north side of Cincinnati. Let's just say it's more of an attraction than a grocery store. It's a must stop every time we go to Cinci. Finally we made it to King's Island for Mark's company day. Grace was able to ride on a few of the rides and we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch. It's so cool to have the park open only to Cincinnati Insurance employees--much shorter lines! All in all we had a FABULOUS weekend!

Trying out the pool

Post-pool but not ready to get dressed for the day

Grace's favorite thing is to get ready with me. She loves using my makeup brushes on her face (sans makeup, of course!) and adores it when I use the blow dryer on her!

Checking out the animal statues outside of Jungle Jim's

The view from the "Eiffel Tower"

Grace got scared on the carousel...

She was much happier in mommy's arms!

This was the "craziest" ride we went on

Grace and daddy on the airplane ride

Pretty high!

Waiting in line for the mini train ride (yes, she was chewing on my hair!)

And then on to the big train ride around the park.

Too much fun for Grace!